Digital Minister Taira attended the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting 2025
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Digital Minister Taira attended the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting held in Paris from June 2-4, 2025.
Overview of the meeting
The OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) is one of the most important meetings of the OECD, held under the leadership of the chair country. Ministers from 38 OECD member countries represent a wide range of fields, including economics, finance, digital technology, and the environment. They convene to discuss pressing international issues such as global economic stability, sustainable growth, climate change, digitalization, and reducing inequalities.
This year’s MCM, chaired by Costa Rica with Australia, Canada, and Lithuania serving as Vice-Chairs, focused on the theme “Leading the Way Towards Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Prosperity Through Rules-Based Trade, Investment, and Innovation.” Discussions centered on reinforcing the international trading system and enhancing economic security, building an inclusive global economy, and leveraging the digital economy, including AI.
Digital Minister Taira attended "SESSION 5: Leveraging the Digital Economy to Drive Growth for Shared Prosperity," serving as the lead speaker on June 4. During the session, he stated that as the data-driven economy continues to evolve, promoting Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), is essential for data utilization among like-minded countries that share common values.
He also emphasized the need to accelerate policymaking by leveraging AI, in response to the exponential growth in data utilization driven by the rise of generative AI. He also expressed his expectations for the DFFT Expert Community, which was established under the OECD as part of the Institutional Arrangement for Partnership (IAP) following the endorsement at the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit, to further advance the operationalization of DFFT. In addition, he underscored the necessity and importance of strengthening the OECD’s organizational structure, particularly the relevant committee structure for data governance, to enhance its capacity to propose effective data governance policies in collaboration with the DFFT Expert Community.
DFFT High-Level Panel
On June 2, Minister Taira participated in a DFFT high-level panel, co-chaired by the OECD and Costa Rica, the chair country this year. The panel brought together ministers and experts from various countries. During the discussion, the participants acknowledged that enhanced collaboration among like-minded countries is essential for the operationalization of DFFT.
Minister Taira emphasized that the development of technologies, such as AI and cloud computing requires reliable and secure data flows. He stated that addressing policy issues associated with cross-border data flows, including privacy protection and national security, should not rely only on the regulations but utilize these regulations and cutting-edge technologies, striking the right balance between both, to foster trust in data flows. He reaffirmed that through these initiatives, Japan strives to create a data-driven society that fully utilizes data.
Bilateral Meetings
On the occasion of the Ministerial Council Meeting, Minister Taira held bilateral meetings with several ministers, including Minister Bogantes of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology, and Telecommunications of Costa Rica.
